How Popular is Wine in Grammy-Nominated Songs?

When it comes to alcohol getting mentioned in Grammy-nominated songs over the last decade, are artists raising a glass, and their voice, to wine?

by Wine Enthusiast

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Common themes unite popular music, from rock and country to rap and R&B. What’s one thread running through Grammy-nominated songs from every genre over the past decade? You guessed it—wine.

Saucey, a company that delivers alcoholic beverages, compiled data* on Grammy-nominated songs in eight different categories over the past ten years: Song of the Year, Best Dance Recording, Best Rock Song, Best Rap Song, Best R&B Song, Best Country Song, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best American Roots Song.

They found 25% of all nominated songs mention alcohol. In the “Song of the Year” category, four of the last nine winners have as well. The bottles mentioned most overall? Champagne, Cognac, vodka and wine. And while Champagne is, of course, a wine, it’s not a surprise the most celebratory of sparkling beverages shows up as a most-mentioned.

If you’re wondering what song had the most mentions of alcohol over the past decade, it’s “Refill” by Elle Varner, nominated for Best R&B song in 2013. It mentions alcohol 31 times. Though it should be noted in the lyrics Varner is not drinking and is looking for a refill of someone’s time.

*A note on Saucey’s methodology. They count alcohol references as mentions of drinking, bottles, types of liquor, feelings of intoxication, style of imbibing and drinking venues.